Essential pattern Grammar reference

Những N là N

B1 Casual Both dialects 88 views

Quantity exclamation frame — colloquial.

Definition

What it means

English

'Những N là N' / 'bao nhiêu là N' are exclamation frames that convey 'so many of X!' / 'tons of X!'. They're not questions, despite 'bao nhiêu' usually meaning 'how many?' — the addition of 'là + noun' transforms the construction into an emphatic exclamation. 'Đông quá, bao nhiêu là người!' = 'So crowded — tons of people!' The pattern lets you stress overwhelming quantity in a vivid, punchy way that bare 'nhiều' (many) doesn't capture. Often paired with an interjection ('Trời ơi', 'Ôi') and a feeling-word ('Đông quá') to give the full emotional package. The construction also works with 'những' as a quasi-synonym frame: 'Những công việc là công việc!' = 'So much work to do!', where the noun gets emphatically repeated. Both versions are casual, expressive, and very common in spoken Southern Vietnamese.

Tiếng Việt

Cấu trúc này nhấn mạnh số lượng lớn của cái gì đó. Giống như nói "bao nhiêu là..." hoặc "cực nhiều..."

Examples

In real Southern Vietnamese

Showing 2 of 8 — subscribe to unlock 6 more with audio and word-by-word gloss.

  1. Đông quá trời, bao nhiêu là người!

    It's so crowded, there are tons of people!

  2. Anh ấy mua bao nhiêu là sách!

    He bought so many books!

Subscribe to unlock 6 more examples

You're seeing a teaser. Subscribers get every example with native audio, word-by-word gloss, side-by-side compare panels, and common-mistake callouts.

  • Native Southern audio on every example
  • Word-by-word interlinear gloss
  • Compare panel with similar patterns
  • Common-mistake callouts & usage notes

Pay with SVFF Credit · Cancel anytime · Gift access is available when SVFF Team grants it · Learn more

Usage notes
Frame: 'bao nhiêu là + N' = 'so many / tons of N!'. Often interchangeable with 'những + N + là N' (same emphatic frame). Expresses surprise or strong emphasis at large quantity. Used in exclamations: 'Đông quá, bao nhiêu là người!' (So crowded — tons of people!).
Was this helpful?

Your vote helps us improve this grammar reference.